Surrogates

In a near future where people live isolated lives and interact through lifelike robotic surrogates, veteran cop Tom Greer is pulled out of his comfortable, controlled existence to investigate a string of violent crimes. When other people's surrogates start getting murdered, those attacks have real human consequences, and Greer has to step into the physical world he mostly abandoned. He’s used to operating through an avatar, relying on technology for safety and distance, so the case forces him to confront how much of life he’s outsourced and who benefits from the system. The plot follows his unraveling of a conspiracy while he questions the gap between body and identity.

Released in 2009, the film was directed by Jonathan Mostow, with a screenplay credited to Michael Ferris and John Brancato. The cast includes Bruce Willis as Tom Greer, Radha Mitchell, Rosamund Pike, James Cromwell, and Ving Rhames.

The movie opened as a major studio sci fi thriller and saw moderate box office returns, reaching audiences worldwide without becoming a blockbuster or major financial phenomenon.

Its core image, people plugged into pods controlling idealized robotic bodies, became one of the more memorable visuals of late 2000s genre cinema. The film’s premise has been used in conversations about avatars, virtual presence, and the ethics of mediated experience, and its look has shown up in later works and discussions about tech and social isolation.

Critical response was mixed, the audience score hovering around a middling average, with many viewers and reviewers praising the premise and production design while criticizing pacing and script choices. The movie tackles themes of technology dependence, the loss of physical community, questions of personal accountability when actions are mediated, and how corporate and political forces shape who gets to be present in the world.